


A Game Of Drafts

by MagicMalcolm



Series: Dating For Demons [12]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Best Dad Matt Bloom, Dating For Demons Verse, Established Relationship, FinnZayn, Introspective Finn, M/M, Sami Is Very Enthusiastic, SamiFinn, WWE Draft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 18:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicMalcolm/pseuds/MagicMalcolm
Summary: The Performance Centre is buzzing as the Live Draft commences during SmackDown! Live.  With only six spots available on the Main Roster for the NXT stars, the tension in the air is palpable...and perhaps no-one in the building is feeling that more than Finn Bálor.





	A Game Of Drafts

The atmosphere in the Performance Centre was one of cautious optimism with a hint of nervous anxiety.  Practically the entire roster and crew of NXT had gathered in the main training area to observe the events of SmackDown's live draft.  The lives of six of these up and coming acts was about to change drastically, for those six were going to be called up to the Main Roster as part of the Draft. 

Most of the newer signees had an air of inevitable disappointment around them, knowing the chances of them being drafted were slim to none.  Others had an air of absolute certainty about their future, especially judging by the confident look on Austin Aries' face, a small smirk and a dismissive stare hidden behind designer sunglasses.

Then there were those with the continual fear of being left behind.  Nobody was surprised that Bayley and Carmella had sat down next to each other, but only those close by could see how tight they were holding on to the other.  Bayley had already been forced to sit back and watch as some of her closest friends, her fellow Horsewomen, had all long been gone and lighting up the main roster.  Now there was every chance she'd have to say goodbye to more of her friends, whilst being left behind once again.

Carmella, meanwhile, was merely awaiting the inevitable.  It had been a hard four months since WrestleMania, only being able to see Cass on Television and all-too-briefly in person when their schedules allowed for quick visits.  The loneliness was incredibly taxing, but Carmella tried to use that frustration to help improve herself in the ring even further.  The lonely nights were somewhat levitated by her wonderful friends, there was always a spare bed waiting for her at Bayley’s or Finn’s place if things got too much for her.  Commiserating with Finn had become an all too regular thing, but on the plus side Finn had introduced her to some fantastic beers whilst she had introduced Finn to some truly outrageous cocktails.

But now?  Carmella’s two lines of support were in real danger of being ripped away from her.  There was surely no way that Finn and Bayley weren’t going to get called up in the draft?  The thought of being further isolated from her closest friends and loved ones had left her in a much more sombre mood than usual, clinging on to Bayley as the lifeline she had truly become.

And then there was Finn Bálor.

The only person in that room that _everybody_ assumed was getting called up.  Well… _almost_ everybody.  Oh, sure, Finn would be the first to tease the fans on Twitter about getting called-up…but the actual act of _being_ called-up was becoming ever more elusive.  It hadn’t come after dropping the NXT Title at Lowell…it hadn’t come after losing the Steel Cage Match to Joe at TakeOver: The End…and it hadn’t come after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura either.  Three _prime, **golden**_ opportunities to be called-up to the main roster…but the call never came.

Unsurprisingly, most of the conversations Finn had with Sami over the past few weeks had been primarily about the Draft (the only exception being when Against Me! announced their new album, at which point Sami went into a musical fangasm of which Finn had no chance of understanding).  Sami had been nothing short of enthusiastic about the prospect, gushing over whether he’d prefer the responsibility of helping to keep RAW on top as the Flagship Show or the challenge of helping build SmackDown up to RAW’s level.  Finn couldn’t help but be dragged along with Sami’s tidal wave of enthusiasm, even participating in a fantasy draft with him at one point.  Sami had, of course, picked Finn as his first draft pick.

“Well, now I can’t pick you, can I?” Finn had groaned, “Won’t be on the same show that way!”

The draft was so much on Sami’s mind that he’d even used it as justification for one more match with Kevin Owens.  Finn tried not to let the disappointment seep into his voice when he spoke to Sami about it afterwards, but had reluctantly agreed that it was for the best…the ghost of Kevin Owens had to be exorcised somehow…for both Sami’s sake and maybe even for Kevin’s. 

“It has to be the end…” Sami has said, the weariness of the past finally catching up to him, “…win, lose, whatever…I’m done with Kevin Owens.  I have to be…my future… _our_ future…it depends on it, Finn.  I need him out of my life.”

Finn couldn’t bring himself to ask Sami what he would do if he and Kevin ended up on the same show, despite Sami’s claims that Battleground would be their final encounter.

And _then_ the announcement of the six NXT draft picks happened.

To say they had both had a minor meltdown at this announcement would be fairly accurate.

“I mean statistically there’s, what, a 2 to 1 shot of us ending up on the same show?” Sami actually counted on his fingers to demonstrate his impeccable mathematical knowledge, “RAW gets 2 draft picks for every 1 SmackDown gets, right?”

“Do you really see Stephanie McMahon, of all people, choosing current day wrestling’s super underdog for her show?” Finn sighed, “She had enough of that with Daniel Bryan.”

“Okay, but, SmackDown is gonna be the _wrestling_ show, right?” Finn honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if Sami turned the camera around to show a whiteboard covered in statistics and stick figures, “So, no way Shane wouldn’t want the **best** wrestler in NXT on his show?”

“I’m flattered, really, but that’s a bold claim to make when Nakamura’s here,” Finn chuckled despite his misgivings about the whole situation, “But you’d think the Demon Bálor would make a better fit for RAW?  Stephanie would probably appreciate the theatrics.”

“Yeah…Hunter’ll probably encourage her to pick up as many of his NXT guys as she can…” Sami tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Hey, think we could get him a gift or something…like a ‘best boss ever’ mug…maybe subtly hint to him that we get put on the same show?”

Finn rolled his eyes, “Fairly certain bribery wouldn’t get us anywhere, Sami.”

“Not with that negative attitude, it won’t!”

“Sami…you do realize there’s a chance I won’t be one of the six, right?” Finn really, really didn’t want to bring that up…not with Sami so excited about the whole situation, “I mean…look at the _talent_ they have to choose from?  So many of those guys deserve this opportunity…”

“More than you?” Sami gasped, “Finn, nobody in NXT is more ready to be called up than you are!  Nearly two years of hard work to improve as an already incredible wrestler, an incomparable title reign and a legacy that no-one will ever hope to surpass!  Finn, you absolutely deserve this.  Not even saying that as your partner, this is coming straight from Sami Zayn the wrestler.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to defer to the good word of WWE Superstar Sami Zayn, then,” Finn felt the heat rising to his face under Sami’s praise.  Under normal circumstances Finn could’ve just brushed it off as encouraging words from his boyfriend, but he had to go and make sure it was the professional wrestler side of him speaking…and honestly, being praised by his peers wasn’t an unusual event…but it always seemed to mean more coming from Sami, “Anyone trained by the great El Generico can’t be wrong, after all.”

And as the Draft officially began, Finn immediately began making mental notes of how the rosters were shaping up, assessing the different challenges each could potentially offer.

_Seth Rollins for RAW...no surprises there...he'd be a challenging opponent one day..._

_Ambrose for SmackDown...and the ultimate goal of the World Championship with it...Sami seems to like him well enough...I’ve certainly faced enough wild characters to know how to take him on..._

_Charlotte to RAW...fair enough..._

_AJ Styles to SmackDown...heh, would love to remind him who the **real** leader of the Club is..._

_Finn Bálor to RAW...huh, that’s an interesting choice...don't think I've ever faced him before...._

_..._

_Wait, **WHAT**?!?_

Finn's head shot up in surprise just in time to see himself looking right back at him on the big monitor, the words "Finn Bálor drafted to RAW" staring him right in the face.  His first thought was to try and regain some semblance of composure...his reaction was probably being filmed, after all...and as realisation set in the sounds of applause from his peers filled his ears.  Finn slowly managed to stand up, despite his legs suddenly having the consistency of jelly. He could feel his mobile phone vibrating like crazy in his pocket...a slew of texts and Tweets no doubt awaited...it was all happening so fast, so soon...not quickly enough...he could only look around at the people surrounding him, a dumbstruck look on his face as they continued to clap for him.

Finn Bálor was officially a member of the RAW roster.

He could see the looks of excitement on Bayley and Carmella's faces, a look of begrudging acceptance from Samoa Joe, Shinsuke had a beaming grin on his face for his friend, Hideo merely nodded in approval in his direction...so many excited and encouraging looks being aimed in his direction from the likes of Tye, Chad and Jason...Mojo, Jose and Andrade...Blake, Murphy and Alexa...Nia, Asuka, Adrienne, Daria and Mandy...Aliyah, Liv, Peyton, Billie and Nikki...even Dash and Dawson seemed genuinely pleased for him...

"Hey Bálor, you finished daydreaming over there?"

Finn blinked in surprise, looking over in the direction he had been addressed from.  He recognised the voice, but still wasn't quite prepared for what he was about to see.  Matt Bloom was standing tall, holding a red 'RAW' branded t-shirt aloft.  There was undisguised pride on his face, and unashamed tears forming in his eyes.  Finn could feel himself welling up at the sight, looking over at the man who once-upon-a-time had helped a young, wide-eyed and _terrified_ Irishman acclimatise to life in Japan...the man who had become one of his closest friends and colleagues since then...the man who had helped transform the Performance Centre into what it had become in the wake of Bill DeMott's reign of terror...

The man who, by accident or design, had introduced Finn to a certain Sami Zayn on Finn's very first day at the Performance Centre...

It wasn't until Finn felt two large arms drawing him in for a hug that he realised he'd been walking towards Matt in a complete daze.  How he’d managed to navigate himself through the throng of congratulatory people in between the tightly packed chairs was beyond him.

“I am **so** proud of you,” Finn could hear Matt’s voice somewhere in the haze of it all, eventually being released by the head trainer.  Finn couldn’t be sure, maybe it was just the lights…but Matt’s eyes seemed awfully watery all of a sudden, “Long time coming, eh?”

“I…” Finn blinked as his phone continued to vibrate in his pocket, hearing Matt’s jovial laugh at the constant buzzing,  “…it’s not really sunk in.  At all.”

“Well, maybe this will help?” Matt once again held up the RAW T-Shirt for Finn to see, “They’ll want you to put this on before your first interview.”

“Wow…it’s…” Finn gingerly took the offered t-shirt from Matt, staring at it in a mixture of awe and disbelief, before disbelief quickly overtook the awe, “…not my size.”

“You mean it’ll actually fit you without it begging for mercy,” Matt grinned as Finn glowered at him, “Hey, in my defence we had no way of knowing who’s getting drafted, so you’re stuck with one size fits all.  You can always re-gift it.”

“I think I’ll be keeping this one, somehow,” Finn grinned as he slipped the t-shirt on, not bothering to change out of the top he had on.  The t-shirt was big enough to go over it easily, “It’s one Hell of a keepsake.”

“Right, you’ve got a few minutes before your first interview as a WWE Superstar,” And wow, that description was like music to Finn’s ears, “But I’m guessing there’s some people you want to talk to first?”

“Yeah!” Finn smiled broadly, “I gotta get my ma and da on Facetime!”

“Go on, I’ll keep the interviewers occupied for a few more minutes,” Matt gave Finn a hefty pat on the shoulder, “I’ll keep watch to see if _anyone important_ gets drafted while you’re gone.”

The inflection in Matt’s voice and his knowing grin were not lost on Finn in the slightest.

“Thanks!  I appreciate it!” Finn grinned as rushed off, hands rapidly going for his phone to get in contact with as many of his family and friends as he could manage.  His grin only intensifying at the very first text message he received post draft announcement.

 _‘You’re still my no.1 draft pick.’_   Followed by a heart and kissy face emojis.

Finn chuckled, pulling up Facetime to get in touch with his parents, “At least I’m number one in your heart, Sami…oh, hey da!  Is mam there too…?”


End file.
